


The Stars They Tell Me So

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Alternate Univere, College AU, Drug Use, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Violence, basically a lot of things, coffee shop AU, fate vs freewill, not really about college
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-14
Updated: 2013-10-07
Packaged: 2017-12-23 10:34:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/925332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren is a pretty average college student when he and Mikasa finally transfer for their second year into the esteemed Maria Wall University from Trost U. Everything seems to be going smoothly and normally until a rather shady character is seen multiple times around town by Eren. Mikasa warns him not to get too involved with the wrong group of people, but Eren's curiosity gets the better of him. Little does he know that fate is unfolding right in front of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The date was May 2nd, a cool day in spring.

At first, the light was blinding for the cut up, battered body that lie in the hospital bed. Only the flickering of lights harmed his vision. There was no one there to support him, no one there to love him, no one there but a weary nurse who came to check up on him the moment he awoke. His eyes fluttered open, squinting against the hospital lights, only to find his face now hidden from the white burning overhead suns by the nurse with dark hair and a normal looking face. "Welcome back," she said in a warm tone, but the boy could only concentrate on her voice and the way her mouth formed each letter in her words. "Do you know what happened to you?" she questioned in a gently concerned tone. Her voice was soothing enough and so he didn't mind hearing it again.

The boy shook his head slowly, bringing his hands up to rub his eyes to adjust to such bright lighting. His body ached and he was sore and he had a lump in his throat and for some reason he wanted to cry, but he was too exhausted to do anything but blankly stare at his newfound surroundings. He caught the slight frown of the nurse and she took a deep breath. "Do you have a name, dear?" she asked politely and as kindly as she could muster. The boy looked down at his hands that were now neatly folded over his lap and attempted to find his shaky voice. "Levi," he whispered, for that was as loudly as his body would allow him to speak.

The nurse's face seemed to lighten up a little more, "And do you have a last name?" she urged him to continue.

Levi tried to search his foggy memory for another name, but instead gave himself a headache. He pulled at his raven hair and shook his head slowly. He remained like that until the nurse left, the rest of her words drowned out into the background of his thoughts. He was snapped out of his stupor once a tall man in a white coat came in and knelt by his bedside. Levi's eyes met the man's who was presumably the doctor. "Levi, do you think you could tell me how old you are?" he asked kindly, but it was obviously he wasn't very good with children simply by the way he held himself and spoke to Levi in a certain way that didn't sit right with him.

Levi held out his hands and gradually counted on his fingers to see if he was correct. "Eight," he answered curtly in a shaky, almost broken and quiet voice. The doctor thanked him and another woman came in. She was different from the others, she wore a suit and heals and her face had expression lines and she annoyed Levi with her questions. But nevertheless, he answered them all in his drone like state. The woman asked him about what exactly had happened to him, but he hadn't a clue. She asked him about his parents, but he couldn't even begin to recall their faces. Or their names. Or parents for that matter. However, he felt the urge to cry after that, to simply hide under the covers away from the lady and her questions about parents and whether or not if he knew who had hurt him. He didn't want to talk anymore.

When the adults had finally ceased treating the poor boy like a criminal in for questioning, he had the itch to look around. He pushed himself off of his bed and his bare feet curled under him at the cool touch of the tile floor beneath them before he continued on. Levi first made his way into the bathroom attached to his tiny hospital room. In there he found a full body mirror and he only then got a good look at himself. His raven hair was in a partial mess and uncombed, bruises and cuts were everywhere skin was exposed, and one of his gray eyes had a purple hued ring under it. His lip had a fairly bad cut on it that was still sore.

He lifted up the small nightgown they had thrown on his elfin child form and he saw black, green, purple and blue bruises of unimaginable sizes on his tiny torso. His ribs peaked out in curves from his body and Levi frowned. He couldn't bear to look at the person in the mirror, and so he decided to leave his room and explore the hospital instead.

He made his way out of the bathroom, dropping the edge of his nightgown back down over his battered body and looked over at the side table with his few salvaged belongings on it. There was a pair of pants, but a shirt was missing. It had probably been to ripped up or tattered so they must have tossed it. On top of his folded blue pants was something shiny that caught his eye and attention. He swiftly picked it up in his hands to examine it. Somehow, whilst holding the small object he felt overwhelmed with happiness. He decided it must be a good luck charm of some sort.

It was a gold pin in the shape of a very rectangular type shield and crossing feather wings had been engraved on it beautifully. It was in lovely condition and it shined in the light. He decided to carry it with him as he walked out of the hospital room to walk around.

Levi was surprised he hadn't been caught yet when he had made his way to what he thought was the East Wing, at least that's what the signs above each archway had led him to believe. There weren't very many patients and most of them were asleep or a small television flickered in the darkness of their rooms through closed doors. He walked along a hall purely made of windows on his right side until he came to a small room at the end of that hallway. It was the only one left with the door open and a small bedside lamp on. Levi was sure it was the middle of the night from the last time he had gotten a glimpse at a clock. He couldn't help but peer in from behind the edge of the doorway.

The pink hospital curtain had been strewn back by ties to reveal a lovely woman holding a bundle of blankets. Her face was very warm and had a soft glow to it and he couldn't help but stare at her. She had very dark hair, darker than his own and honey skin, rosy cheeks and very warm brown eyes. She was smiling kindly down at the bundle she cradled in her arms. There was a man on a visitor's bench with cushions who had been quietly snoring in the background, which caught Levi off guard and he couldn't help but make a small squeak as it had frightened him. The woman quickly looked over at Levi and the boy swiveled back behind the door.

"It's alright, don't be shy," she said quietly, but Levi could still hear her.

Levi peered back around the corner only to be greeted by the woman's kind, lovely smile. "Would you like to see?" she beckoned for him to come over in her honey sweet voice and so he couldn't help but step shyly into the seashell coloured room.

He slowly and silently made his way over to the woman. She still held her kind gaze and smile when Levi had reached the edge of the bed. "My name's Carla Yeager, and that's my husband Grisha sleeping on the bench over there, what's your name darling?" she questioned the young boy, trying to make him feel less anxious for being found out.

"It's Levi," he replied to her request shyly, while eyeing the bundle in her arms.

"Hello Levi," she stated calmly before reiterating in another soft tone, "would you like to see?"

Levi knew she was talking about the bundle in her arms and he nodded adamantly. She smiled at that yet again before leaning down with the bundle enough for Levi to see the tiny baby within its confines. The baby had a tiny brunette tuft of hair and was fast asleep. He smiled at seeing the child. He couldn't recall ever being around any babies, really, so it was a new experience for him. "What's its name?" he whispered to Carla, hoping the baby wouldn't stir.

She raised her eyebrows slightly. "His name is Eren, he was born yesterday morning," Levi smiled at this before returning his gaze back down to the small bundle.

"Hello Eren," he whispered happily at the baby, but the baby remained asleep. Carla let out a small giggle, "Luckily, he was born quite the heavy sleeper," she told him and Levi was simply fascinated.

Levi and Carla both looked down the hall through the open door as the same doctor from earlier made his way into the room to check up on Carla, only to find that the mysterious eight year old Levi was beside the bed looking contently at Miss Yeager's newborn. Levi looked sheepishly up at the doctor as the man shook his head. He curtly asked how Carla was doing and she answered with a pleasant reply. The doctor turned to Levi then and told him it was time to get back to his room for tomorrow the lady from earlier would be bringing him to a place where other children like him live and so that he may find a family soon and go live with them and they will love him and raise him. Carla looked slightly alarmed at hearing he was supposedly an orphan. Levi looked sorrowful at hearing the news. He quickly looked back at Carla and little Eren and then down at the pin in his hand.

He had no idea what it meant or where it had come from really, but he felt as though maybe some of the happiness attached to it could be given to both Carla and Eren. Levi placed the pin gently on Eren's blankets and smiled. "Thank you for letting me see Eren," he whispered to Carla and she looked joyfully surprised. "What's this?" she asked, motioning to the pin. Levi stared at it with a determined expression on his face.

"It's a good luck charm!" he finally concluded.

She raised her eyebrows at this, "Well thank you, Levi; Eren and I will keep it dear to us," she assured the young boy.

Feeling satisfied with that, he at last allowed the doctor to shoo him out of the room and back down the hall. The doctor turned back to Carla to add a few words. "I'm sorry about that, no one saw him leave his room and I can't even guess how he got all the way in the East Wing, I hope he wasn't too much of a burden."

"Oh no, he was lovely company, I needed a good chat," Carla answered.

When the doctor finally left and gently closed the door behind him so no more disturbances could occur, Carla looked down at the beautiful pin sitting atop Eren's baby yellow blanket. "There's something strange about that boy," her brow furrowed as she tried to put her finger on exactly what words could describe the feeling she had gotten from Levi. She shook off the feeling and looked down at a content little Eren.

"Grow up to be big and strong, okay Eren?" she warmly said before kissing his forehead gently.

She felt as though Eren was in for something much more wonderful than what he would come to anticipate in life. And for that, she felt truly blessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of the Prologue! This was the necessary background for the rest of the story to unfold from. Thanks for reading guys! Comments would be greatly appreciated!


	2. New Surroundings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Mikasa explore the town around Maria Wall University.

Eren Yeager was exactly average at everything he did. He never tried out for sports when he was younger because it would turn out that he would always be average at them. He was mediocre at everything he did, really. He was average at school and schoolwork, average at cooking, driving, cleaning, average eyesight, average height (possibly even a little below), average everything. There was only one undeniable factor Eren was lucky to be bestowed upon with, and that was determination. Although only average at most everything, no one could deny that Eren had a ridiculous amount of tenacity, determination, and willpower that made people really admire him and his efforts. Not once was he ever told he was a slacker, and he was grateful for that.

It was honestly surprising when Eren was accepted into the esteemed Maria Wall University through a second year transfer. He was glad not only for himself, but for his adopted sister Mikasa who would only go where he went, and so he was relieved that not only him but Mikasa would be able to go to MWU as well. Mikasa often excelled in much of what she did, and she too had undeniable and undying determination though her efforts were more directed towards the topic of keeping Eren safe. She could have easily gotten into a better college on scholarships (which she was offered) but denied for the sake of going to college with Eren to keep a watchful eye on his well being.

Today was the day the both of them finally moved into their new apartment near Maria Wall University, which was certainly more spacious than a dorm but still incredibly small. Eren didn't much mind though, as Mikasa had always been quick to make friends and would most likely be out on the weekends. Eren sighs, plopping down on his small, full sized bed in the room he picked. It was part of an almost turret like bump out in the building that was adorned with windows, so light filtered in readily through the open blinds. He closes his eyes, a smile evident on his face. He had pretty much gotten all of his core classes out of the way with his past year at community college, so now he could finish up whatever he needed to and move onto his major. He still had no idea what he was going to do with his life. He’d have to think long and hard about what he'd want to do for that, but he'd wait until it was time to do that to actually think seriously about it.

His eyes open slowly, partially lidded still as he turns to look out through an open blind at the old street with brick buildings everywhere. It was considered one of the shabbier parts of town in all honesty, but Eren doesn't mind. It meant freedom, and freedom was wonderful.

"All unpacked?" he hears an almost monotone voice come from the doorway. It's Mikasa.

"Yeah, I didn't really have much to unpack to begin with, you know that," Eren replied with a warm sigh of relief, rolling onto his side to look up at Mikasa.

Mikasa was beautiful - 5' 7'', lean muscled, with soft black hair, a fierce gaze and a glowing, porcelain complexion. Eren wondered why she still hadn't ever had a boyfriend before. Not that he wanted her to magically have one or anything, he just wanted her to be happy. "Well, I'm going to go explore the town for a bit, wanna join?" she asks in a hopeful manner.

Eren mulls over his options in his head for a minute. He could stay here and take a nap, or he could actually know where he was going the next day by exploring today. He rubs his eyes and yawns before forcing out a "yeah" with his tired voice. He’d rather not wander aimlessly on his first day. He pulls himself off the bed with much effort before grabbing a jacket off his door handle and slipping it on.

Unfortunately, the town was just as shabby as Mikasa and Eren had expected. The town's residents mostly consisted of college students, druggies, and weary adults. Although Maria Wall University was a beautiful and esteemed college, the only thing beautiful about the area was the campus. The moment you stepped off campus, it was the kind of place where you didn't want to be alone at night.

The town had a park, as Eren and Mikasa discover, with trees and a walkway. But it was basically deserted and the back half of it was open, unfinished construction that was left alone for years. There was a skate park located next to that too. The two also had a library, but it was incredibly small and the books mostly consisted of text books on encyclopedias for the college students in town. The rest was cascaded with creepy alleyways, questionable buildings and the questionable residents within those buildings.

One of the redeeming qualities of it all was the small coffee shop right by the college and not that far of a walk from their apartment. It was cute and somewhat small with only a few tables pushed to the windows here and there but it was nice inside and on the corner of a brick building with a little sign out front; specials were written in chalk every day and there was a positive quote on one side of the sign they changed progressively. Today it read, “Be who you are, because everyone else is taken. - Anonymous”. Mikasa and Eren both ordered coffees with an extra shot of espresso to keep them awake for at least little while longer and decided to sit down at one of the tables.

Eren sips his slowly, it's a little too hot for him but he is so tired he doesn't much care and continues sipping anyway. Mikasa sets her cup on the table, crossing her legs in a ladylike fashion and looks out the window. "So, what do you think?" she asks, glancing back over to Eren apathetically.

Eren shrugs, "It's not so bad, it could be a lot worse I guess." He stops a moment from his sipping to glance around the coffee shop again. "Besides, I really like this little place, so it's not a total dump; it's really nice in here," he smiles at Mikasa and sips some more from his steaming coffee.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighs, "I'm just glad we haven't run into any suspicious activity as of yet," she mumbles before taking the back of her hand and gently knocking on the table with the bone of her knuckle.

Eren eyes her hand, trying to muffle his lighthearted laughter, "Really, Mikasa? Knocking on wood again?" he perks an eyebrow and gives her a ridiculous look. She rolls her eyes at his reaction. Mikasa wasn't openly superstitious or anything, but every now and then she would surprise people with what had become almost a ritual. One of which was knocking on wood after saying something that could be so easily jinxed.

"It's for good measure," she tells him flatly.

" _Mm-hm_ ," Eren replies, not buying her excuse before looking out the window where Mikasa had been eyeing. He had expected to see nothing but an empty old street, but to Eren’s surprise it isn’t as desolate as he had anticipated.

There is a man across the street leaning against the brick of the building. A lit cigarette burns in his right hand and he stares apathetically at the sky with narrow, gray eyes before bringing the said cigarette up to his lips, inhaling the poison and exhaling slowly back out through his mouth. A puffy cloud dissipates as he repeats the action again, the air and wind taking the smoke elsewhere.

Eren can't help but stare at the man. He seems out of place on the shabby old street. He wears a nice white dress shirt with the cuffs pushed to his elbows. His fitted black pants make his legs look long albeit his short stature, and his feet are adorned by nice black dress shoes and the tall socks that peak out from under one of his pant legs that had shifted up slightly to reveal it. His almost black hair is parted neatly and a tie hangs loosely around his neck like he's just finished an affair at work with the secretary in the printer supplies closet. Eren watches intently as the man yet again brings the cigarette up to his lips to take another drag from it before dropping it on the ground and putting it out with the heel of his nice shoe.

"…Eren!" Mikasa practically barks at him.

Eren snaps from his daze and looks over at Mikasa, "Yeah?"

Mikasa rolls her eyes for a second time. "Come on, we'd better get home before it gets too dark. I'd rather not run into trouble," she states, wrapping her red scarf around her neck again and getting up, paper coffee cup in hand.

Eren nods, "Yeah, right, good idea," he says in a swift, breathless voice before also getting up from his seat.

When the both of them exit the small coffee shop, the man across the street is no longer there and Eren feels a pang of disappointment. He quickly shakes the feeling as Mikasa begins to go over the plan for the morning: what time they should leave, which route they'd take to school, and between which classes they could meet up between, et cetera. Eren just answers with a generic 'yeah' or 'uh-huh' to keep Mikasa entertained, though he had pretty much ignored her halfway through her speech. Mikasa had this way of speaking where she could say a lot, but her sentences were curt and cut off in awkward ways - they never had any fluidity to them. Eren had grown accustomed to it and was now able to ignore it when most people couldn't. Sometimes he was glad he could block out her words, because although her sentences were a bit harsher than normal conversation, she had an awfully lovely voice. It was soothing to just listen to her voice at times.

Eren couldn't help but wonder who that odd man was from before. He'd have to keep an eye out for him in the future. He's dragged back from his thoughts as the both of them reach their new apartment's steps. "Eren, have you been listening to a word I've said?" Mikasa inquires incredulously.

"Of course!" Eren jumps at the question, but after seeing Mikasa perk an eyebrow questioningly he gives an unhappy groan and mumbles to himself.

When the both of them were kids, Eren used to call her 'oh overbearing mother' in these situations, but that had become a soft spot for the both of them when his mother and Mikasa's adoptive mother fell ill a few years back. It'd been a whole six years since their mother had passed away, but even now it affected them with sadness for their lost mother and jokes like that were no longer used in every day chatter, even when the topic of their mother's death was never brought up.

After Mikasa unlocks the door and the both of them are safely inside as the sun sets, Eren practically flies into his bedroom and throws on sleeping clothes before brushing his teeth and plopping himself down once again on his soft, comfortable bed. He hugs one of the pillows and closes his eyes, ready to fall into a slumber until Mikasa pokes her head in the doorway saying goodnight and sweet dreams. "G'night," Eren mumbles into the pillow and he quickly succumbs to deep slumber.

That night he dreamt of the mysterious, well-dressed man from across the coffee shop and his deep gray eyes and his thin fingers that delicately held his cigarette against his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, It's going to be a few before Eren & Levi "officially" meet. The next few chapters will probably consist of Eren doting on college junk, meeting new friends, and gawking at the mysterious man.


	3. Waking Sleep

Eren had been a very _vibrant_ child. Albeit stubborn, his vitality lightened the mood in any situation when he was younger. Every tough time the Yeagers had to go through when he was a kid, they were able to because of Eren's positivity.  It's what kept them going, a fuel to their hungry fires. He learned to walk at a very young age, and his mother taught him how to read at the age of four. Eren had been all smiles. If someone mentioned Eren, they immediately thought of his large doe eyes full of curiosity and his dimples while he smiled widely. When Eren was five years old, Grisha's friends were killed in their own home. Their daughter, Mikasa, had survived the attack by hiding in her parent's bedroom closet. Grisha and Carla had happily taken in the poor orphaned girl. At first, Eren and Mikasa didn't exactly get along. Mikasa was too quiet, too distant. Eren had known it was because she was sad after her parents were killed, but it still scared him. To Grisha and Carla's relief, they became fast friends soon after Eren swallowed his discomfort with Mikasa's cold demeanor even at such a young age. That was fourteen years ago.  
  
When Wednesday night rolled around, Eren felt utterly exhausted already. He yearned the weekend's freedom badly but knew he had another day left before his wonderful three day rest period. It came as a bit of a surprise when Mikasa snuck up on him in his bedroom and pulled out one of Eren's earbuds that was loudly playing music to ask him out for ice-cream. Apparently she was really exhausted, too. Eren agreed to go out with her for the sweet and tasty treat without a second thought.  Honestly, they both deserved it. Eren felt like he hadn't seen his adoptive sister since the day they moved in. Probably because they didn't have any classes with each other, and Mikasa had basketball after her classes so she didn't get home until later anyways and Eren had been going to bed early the past two nights (although going to bed early consisted of passing out once his homework was done). It seemed that neither of them had adjusted to college life yet after such a long, lazy summer.  
  
Eren smiles as he takes a bite of his black raspberry ice-cream and catches Mikasa staring at him with her dark eyes.  "Has anyone made any rude remarks to you?" she asks him flatly and Eren raised both his eyebrows at her, though her protectiveness came as no shock to him.  He is, however, caught off guard at such an assumption. He can't be irritated though, because Mikasa's only worried about him.  
  
"No," Eren answers curtly but gently and continues to suck on his spoon, his ice-cream dwindling slowly to smaller portions as he eats.  
  
"So, have you made any new friends then?" she asks calmly. Eren perks an eyebrow. That he hadn't done.  
  
"No," he answers again, repeating his prior answer.  
  
It probably wasn't the best choice for an answer, though. Mikasa took it the wrong way and she's frowning now, her knuckles have turned white as her grip on the plastic spoon tightened. "What is it with people?!" she growls under breath and Eren couldn't help but sigh.  
  
"It's not that, it's just I haven't really had time for any of that yet. I've been really tired lately is all, you know that. I'll make sure I make some friends soon, ok?" he reassured her as much as he could. Mikasa gave him a disbelieving look but nevertheless gave up on the subject.  
  
Eren walks along the edge of the street curb and Mikasa was on the edge of the road. This way Eren was taller than her rather than the same height. Mikasa doesn't seem to mind his childish antics, even when he remarked that he was the king of the curb. Instead, she seems rather amused that Eren is enjoying himself acting like he did when they were eight.  
  
There is someone up ahead that turns down their road on a skateboard and waves at Mikasa. Mikasa waves back as she says "Hey Marco" when he passes by them. The guy on the skateboard replies with a friendly "hi" but keeps rolling down the road, not stopping for chitchat. He's moving a little too fast for Eren to catch a good glimpse at him, but he did notice his dark hair and freckles. Eren decides not to ask about this 'Marco' with freckles and concludes he's probably one of Mikasa's new friends. He's glad that at least she was making new friends.  
  
Mikasa clears her throat as they turned right onto their road. "So…Dad called," she begins.  
  
Eren stops walking. "What did he say?" he asks skeptically. He and Grisha hadn't been on good terms since his sixteenth birthday.  
  
"Pretty standard things. How college was going, if we made any new friends…Things like that," she tells him as genuinely as she can. She looks Eren in the eyes, "He asked about you, y'know, asked how you were doing."  
  
Eren scoffs. "Whatever."  
  
Mikasa looks worried by his reaction. "He's said he was sorry many times," she puts in. Eren turns his head away from her before quickly finishing the rest of his ice-cream.  
  
When Eren finally found sleep that night, it was clouded by painful memories.  
  
 _"You're_ what? _" Grisha almost growled. His jaw was tense, clenched, and his nose scrunched up a little. "Disgusting."_  
  
Eren tossed and turned in his bed as that word replayed in his mind and spread like wildfire. Disgusting, disgusting, _disgusting_. He was repulsive after all, that's what Grisha had said. He had worked up the courage to tell his father, too, and his courage had been thrown back in his face by bigoted opinions. _"Your mother's probably tossing in her grave. What would she think, Eren? What would she think about her son being a freak?"_ Grisha's voice rang in his head.  
  
And suddenly he was in front of his mother's grave with Mikasa tightly holding his hand. _"It was such a tragic loss," someone dressed in a black skirt with blue flowers remarked. "Those poor children," another one said._ Then there was a burning rage within him, and Eren wanted to cry and throw something and he felt like a wild stallion that couldn't be tamed. He felt the need to hit someone or to pull out his hair and his father's face filled with revulsion burned onto the back of his eyelids. He felt an overwhelming urge to strangle something. But, as if meeting the eye of the storm, everything was calm. He now felt the need to shrivel up and hide in a shell or dive into his hidey-hole never to return to the surface. Everything seemed cooler now, comfortable. The sound of a ceiling fan whirring in the background and a calm voice calling for Eren to wake up. It was his mother's voice. It was kind and warm and gentle and he missed her so much, more than he ever had, all in one instant.  
  
Although Eren didn't awake at first, he could feel gentle fingers brushing his hair away from his sweating forehead. Finally, his eyes fluttered open to see Mikasa sitting on the edge of his bed, sadness filling her expression. He rubs his eyes with his palm and she stops her soothing finger brushes. "M'kasa?" he yawns sleepily, "what's wrong?" he asks. She lets out a small, wavering sigh.  
  
"You were talking loudly in your sleep again," she tells him.  
  
For some reason the word 'again' really stung in her words. "What was I saying?" Eren begins to panic. Oh god, what had he said?  
  
She looks out the window to the night sky and frowned before turning back to look Eren in the eyes. "It started out as you just talking, but then it got louder and I woke up and then you were…" Mikasa bites her lip a moment, "crying."  
  
Eren's eyes wander over Mikasa to make sure she was alright. His heart pounds in his chest as he spots reddish marks on her arms and one by her collar bone already starting to form a bruise. His brows furrow and he knows he'd hurt her. She had most likely tried to stop him from hurting himself by accident, attempting to hold down his limbs while he tried to thrash about violently in his sleep. He knows because it isn't the first time. He knows because this had happened quite a few times on several occasions after their mother had died. It overwhelms him with sadness.  
  
Eren's eyes widen a little and she gives him an understand look. She forgives him. "Mikasa, what was I saying?" he questions firmly.  
  
"Eren, you kept saying you were sorry."

Eren's stomach twists into terrible knots.

 

* * *

 

The first few days of school were ridiculously boring for Eren, he had expected some sort of wonderful first few days at his entirely new, somewhat uppity college. However, his hopes were crushed under the dreadful normality of everything. The only major difference Eren could see in Maria Wall University and Trost U Community College was that one campus was nicer than the other and some of the teachers were more strict. Frankly, it sucked. On top of that, Mikasa had befriended a few people already and Eren had barely even spoken to the professors. Luckily, his schedule was pliant enough for him to have Fridays free of classes, which he was very much excited for. Mikasa had two of her classes on Fridays, too, so Eren was free of a nagging, motherly sister even if for only a short while.  
  
Eren grumbles as he rubs his eyes with his palms, his eyes attempting to focus on the clock atop his bedside table. It reads 9:17 AM. Eren sighs, lingering there in the sheets for a while longer before finally deciding to drag himself out of bed. He can't help but yawn and give a big stretch. He really needs something to wake him up. Eren thinks to himself for a moment before grinning. He'd make his way to the little corner coffee shop from earlier in the week. He hadn't been since he and Mikasa initially went, so it was about time to return he thought.  
  
He pushes himself off the bed and walks into the bathroom where he strips himself of his sleepwear before turning on the shower. Without hesitation he quickly hops in under the running water only to let out shrill shriek and almost hop back out. He quickly fumbles for the warm knob, forgetting about the backwards hot and cold knobs really sucked. On top of that, he had to wait a good several minutes before the water was even up to satisfactory warmth. Eren was glad he was the only one home, or he would have never lived down such a girly scream. His brow twitches under the running water just thinking about Mikasa teasing him for it.  
  
Eren often thought about life in the shower. He didn't know why, especially considering the fact that we was simply naked and cleaning himself under warm streams of water. He thought about what had happened Wednesday night and his stomach churned. He didn't feel so good, and so he decided to hurry up with rinsing off and he hopped out as soon as he was clean. He had tried to say sorry to Mikasa properly already about twelve times but she had stopped him before he could even begin to apologize. She told him that it was her responsibility to keep him safe, whatever that meant. It clearly wasn't so he didn't know why she doted on him so much. At times, he was really grateful for how protective Mikasa could be, because Eren had often gotten himself into trouble when they were kids and she had always been the one to back him up on his crazy endeavors and idiotic ideas.  
  
Eren used to get into a lot of fights with the other children if he didn't think they were being nice enough to someone else or if they were being unfair. Even though the teachers silently rooted for him, they were forced to give him punishments like detention because it was their job. Mikasa would always stay after with him when that happened to make sure he got home safely.  
  
Other times it was really annoying and aggravating beyond belief. This was usually when Eren was meeting new people or going out with friends and she would just be _there_. People would often remark it was creepy, but he knew better.  
  
When Eren was finally presentable to society, he grabbed the key to the apartment and some money off the counter, exiting and locking the door behind him. At first, he was afraid it would be scary walking by himself anywhere, seeing as it wasn't exactly the nicest of towns. It turned out that it wasn't so bad in the main part of town and where their apartment building was while in broad daylight. There were no dark alleyways to shy away from when the sun was up, so he felt confident walking by himself this early in the morning. However, Eren didn't think he could say the same once night fell.  
  
He had thrown on a white V-Neck, jeans, and a tan fall jacket due to the cool chill in the air. The leaves on the thin trees planted every now and then on the sidewalk had their leaves already turning different shades from the weather growing colder. This was Eren's favorite part of autumn. He always loved to look at all the pretty trees. He really liked the yellow leaves, but the whole warm colour scheme made him smile and want to drink apple cider or go apple picking even though he hadn't gone since him and Mikasa were twelve.  
  
Eren shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and began his stroll down the street toward the coffee shop. On his way there he passed what seemed like a few suspicious deadbeats and he shrunk back into his shoulders slightly and quickened his pace but his walk there was otherwise peaceful. He's surprised to see only a few people inside the coffee shop when he arrives, but doesn't really care either way. A few of them look up from their book or their laptop as the door's bell jingles when he opens it. He orders the same thing as when he was with Mikasa, only with more espresso this time, and thanks the blonde girl at the counter. Her name tag reads 'Annie' in pretty letters and Eren recalls seeing her working when he was last there. She hands him his coffee with a knowing look and he nods his gratitude.  
  
He's about to turn to leave, coffee in hand, but then Annie speaks up. "You're Eren, right?" she reminds him of an aggressive dog.  
  
"Uh, yeah…have we met?" he questions, surprised someone even knew his name.  
  
"Not officially but," she pauses to lean over the counter and rest her weight on her elbows, "I believe we're in the same College Lit class," she barks at him.  
  
Eren furrows his brows and studies her face. Now that he thought about it, she did look rather familiar. She had light blue eyes and thin brows and her nose sloped out and down like half of a hemicircle. She was also incredibly short, probably around 5 feet or so. "Oh yeah! Annie, right?" he asks with a crooked smile and her expression of apathy remains as she taps her name tag with a perfect fingernail clacking against the hard surface. Eren watches her finger tap the plastic covering her name, "Riggghtt," he says after an awkward silence.  
  
"So I haven't really seen you anywhere outside of class yet," she begins and Eren takes a sip of his coffee and walks back toward the counter so they could talk without any of the other customers being distracted by a college student talking in the middle of the shop.  
  
"I've sort of been keeping to myself, I haven't exactly made any friends yet," he admits shamefully and this seems to amuse Annie.  
  
"I assumed so. Well, if you're up to it, why don't you go to Jean's house later? At nine. They're having a little party there, first of the year, it's a small thing really. I think Mikasa will be there, it's all basically her circle of friends," her voice is forceful and Eren is almost afraid to decline the offer.  
  
Instead he opts for something a little more polite without giving a definite answer. "Sounds good, I'll see if I can make it," he smiles at Annie before turning to leave, giving a half-assed wave toward her as a form of goodbye. She waves goodbye also and Eren makes a swift exit.  
  
Eren's relieved to finally get out of there away from Annie, her presence was almost stifling and cold and he didn't like it too much. He wonders if even her friends thought of her like an angry dog or if it was just him. He thought about what would happen if he did end up going to this 'Jean' person's little get together. He presumes there would be alcohol and he hadn't exactly been to an official college party with alcohol yet, so the idea made him a little uneasy. Mikasa would probably end up dragging him there anyways, and Eren gives a sigh as he imagines her pushing him most of the way there.  
  
As Eren walks past an alleyway covered in warm shade, he overhears someone pleading and his hair stands on end. _Please, please, please! I won't mess up next time!_ And so on. He immediately walks in a quicker pace until he is back in the safety of Mikasa and his apartment.  
  
He doesn't leave for the remainder of the day.


	4. Introductions

When Mikasa had finally arrived home from school later that Friday, Eren told her about what Annie had told him and Mikasa urged Eren to join her and meet her new friends as Eren had predicted. After excessive amounts of persuasion, Mikasa finally coaxed Eren to agree to go with her and leave the house. Which was exactly the reason why he was being led by Mikasa down a block or two toward this 'Jean' person's house. He isn't too excited, really, but he supposed it would be alright if Mikasa was there. Annie would be there, too, he guessed. He really hopes she didn't have the same aggressive air about her when over at a friend's house. He might actually enjoy her company if that were the case.

Mikasa had a straight face, but Eren could feel the excitement radiating off of her. She holds firmly onto Eren's sleeve. Apparantly Jean's apartment is a few blocks down. That's what Mikasa had said earlier. Luckily, Eren hadn't been forced into new clothes and still adorned the white v-neck and fitted jeans from before, only he had forgot to grab his jacket on their way out and so now his arms were adorned with goosebumps. He isn't too chilly, but he is still uncomfortable as his nipples rub awkwardly against the cotton of his shirt.

Mikasa had chosen to wear her favorite red scarf that their mother had given her for christmas one year. It was soft and Mikasa would often wear it, even in summer at times. She didn't have a jacket on either, but she seemed untouched by the cool chill in the night air.

Eren made mental notes of which way they were heading so he would know for future reference. His eyes wandered up ahead to the other side of the street. There were people. Eren's heart starts pounding a little faster out of fear (and habit). The dim street light flickers, but his eyes follow a thin trail of smoke down to a cigarette resting on someone's lips. Their face is hidden. There are two other shady characters that step into the edge of the light and Eren can hear displeased voices but can't make out what they're saying. He doesn't want to, especially when one of them grabs the man with the cigarette and pulls him into the light enough for Eren to make out who it is.

It's the mysterious man from before. The out of place man. The man with almost raven hair and gray eyes and a cigarette. Eren can't help but stare. The man's eyes are full of anger, his nose scrunches up a little at the top, but his overall expression seems only slightly displeased. Eren watches the other man intently, every movement, every hair that falls out of place…and then, as if gravity is pulling them toward each other, the man's gray eyes meet Eren's green ones. Eren loses all train of that. He continues to stare right back into those orbs of gray abyss until they vanish from his site as Mikasa pulls him round a corner.

Eren snaps from his daze.

Up ahead he can see a familiar short blonde girl speaking with an incredibly tall, brown haired man. He can't help but wonder who it is. Annie spots Mikasa and Eren and waves her arm to signal them over by her. Mikasa practically drags Eren across the street to the steps of the apartment. "Long time no see, Eren," Annie barks at him and Eren couldn't help but smile sheepishly. She's still incredibly intimidating, even outside of work. "Hey Mikasa," she adds nonchalantly, rolling her gaze over to his sister.

Alas, Mikasa finally releases Eren from her safety grip. "Hey guys!" she says happily before motioning for Eren to follow her inside.

When the both of them step in, Eren notices that the apartment is nicer than theirs. It has tile in the kitchen, rather than linoleum, and the furniture is a little nicer and not as beat up. There's quite a handful of people there and they all turn and smile and some hoot at Mikasa. Mikasa turns and gestures to Eren, "This is my brother, Eren," she states politely. She begins to quickly tell Eren everyone's names.

"That's Jean over there on the couch," she points to a guy in the middle of the couch with a two-toned hair colour. "That's Marco beside him," Eren follows her finger and found the guy from Wednesday on the skateboard. He indeed has freckles and tan skin and warm brown eyes which make him seem incredibly friendly.

"Over there is Ymir, and on her lap is Christa," Mikasa spoke and Eren spots the tall, tomboyish and tan girl with her brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail with a gray pullover hoodie sitting in a chair. On Ymir's lap sits a tiny blonde girl with deep blue eyes and a cute yellow summer dress on who has a tiny smile on her lips. That must be Christa.

"There's Connie and Sasha," she waves her hand over by the kitchen and sure enough, a short male with a buzz cut is laughing at a taller, thin girl with reddish brown hair who is stuffing her face with food.

The incredibly tall man from outside makes his way indoors with Annie in tow. "This is Bertholt, and that's Reiner over there chatting with Ymir and Christa," she informs and Eren looks over by Ymir and Christa again to find a muscular man with blond hair and small eyes chatting it up with the two. Eren assumes they are strictly Annie's friends and not even Mikasa had met them yet.

Bertholt gives a shy smile and waves his hand as a greeting. Eren nods in response. He turns to look back at Mikasa but she's now missing from her previous spot beside him and he finds her sitting and laughing with Marco and Jean.

Eren sighs before deciding to make his way over to the kitchen. He looks back to see Mikasa staring at him, a grave expression plastered to her face. She mouths the word 'behave' before turning back to her conversation and Eren rolls his eyes. He walks over and stops beside Connie who is laughing at Sasha. "Hey, Eren, right?" he asks in a chipper tone and Eren nods approval. "Need somethin' to drink?" he asked politely but grabbed a red solo cup full of amber liquid before Eren could answer and practically shoved it into his hands.

Eren gazed down at the unfamiliar drink for a solid minute before Connie got the clue. "It's beer," he informed, a little surprised Eren continued to stare down at the cup.

"This would be my first," Eren replies.

Connie laughs heartily, "Good thing I didn't hand you a Jaeger or something then!"

Eren doesn't really understand, but decides it didn't matter. He takes his first sip and swishes it around in his mouth to taste it better. It tastes like apples. "What kind of beer is this?" Eren looks puzzled. Sasha stops her munching and answers, "It's Applehead! I think it's a seasonal? It's made with _apples_ ," she tells him excitedly, putting way too much emphasis on the word 'apples'.

Eren had expected beer to taste really gross, but this was actually rather nice and smooth. He wonders where college students would even get a seasonal beer without drawing suspicion to themselves but his sights rest on Bertholt and Reiner. Bertholt is _at least_ twenty one, and Reiner seems well over that for some reason. They're probably seniors; that would make the most sense.

When Eren goes to sit by Mikasa, he spots Jean sizing him up and he doesn't like it, but he brushes off the feeling nonetheless. "Eren! We were just talking about you," Mikasa says flatly and Eren almost winces just thinking about it.

" _Oh god_ ," Eren mumbles under his breath and Jean barks with laughter.

"Oh, no worries. It was just normal things like how you were adjusting to the new school and all," It is Marco who speaks this time and his voice is softer than Jean's by far. "Although, we did come to a very concerning topic…" Marco frowns a little and it's like all of his freckles are drooping in that moment.

"What's that?" Eren asks after taking a sip of his Applehead beer, slightly worried.

"Well, Mikasa told me you seem fascinated with some man you keep seeing around town," Marco furrows his brow, lowering his voice a little.

Eren's face heats up and his body goes rigid as he jerks in Mikasa's direction defensively. She pretends not to notice. So she had been aware of his strange stare sessions all along? Eren catches Marco shaking his head slightly in the corner of his eye and he turns back to look at the other male.

"Jean and I think it's probably best if you forget about him if it's who we think it is," Marco adds.

Jean leans forward at this and his expression becomes sullen. "Only goes by one name," he begins, "he used to be a hardcore dealer if you catch my drift, and he ain't too friendly. It says a lot when the criminals 'round here take extra measures to avoid him. The ones that are dumb enough to confront him don't usually last too long. He's even got the police so shaken up they just ignore him and let him go on with his business, probably because I don't think he's dealing anymore." Eren sits on the edge of his seat the entire time Jean speaks, his free hand had balled into a fist and his knuckles had turned white already.

"So, please, if you hear the name Levi around here, don't go looking for him, okay?" Marco adds quietly, worry obvious in his expression.

" _Levi?_ " Eren states more than he asks. It rolls off his tongue and he loves the way it sounds.

"Levi," Jean confirms gruffly.

Mikasa turns to Eren. "Try not to fall into the wrong crowd, alright, Eren?" Eren swallows the now forming lump in his throat before answering.

"Yeah alright, Mikasa."

Eren soon realizes that although beer had smaller amounts of alcohol in it than a lot of other beverages, it could really add up after a while. Mikasa was really buzzed and borderline drunk along with Jean, Bertholt, Connie and Sasha. Eren had a few beers before stopping because he could feel himself getting woozier. He didn't like the feeling and decided he wouldn't drink anymore for the night.

He had learned a lot about Mikasa's friends and even made some himself as well. He found out that Ymir and Christa were lovers, as different as they were from each other. Jean and Marco apparently had some sort of skinny love going on that was completely obvious to everyone. Annie didn't act so much like an angry dog when she was around both Berholt and Reiner (although it also may have been the alcohol). And Eren also learned that Sasha and Connie were the best of friends and that although Sasha appeared a little overactive and airy, she had great intuition and was quite knowledgeable, and Connie, although somewhat lacking in the intelligence department, made up for it in his overwhelming need to help his friends and make them laugh.

Eren had tried to approach Mikasa earlier about leaving but she seemed too out of it to listen to him. He decided he would swallow his fear and walk home by himself. As he was exiting the apartment building and said goodbye to the few people he had really gotten along with, Annie walked him out in a more friendly demeanor and told him to be careful.

"Don't worry about Mikasa, we'll take care of her," she says and Eren nods in affirmation. Good, another less thing he'd have to worry about.

Eren swiftly makes his way down the steps, across the street, and round the corner he and Mikasa had come through earlier that night. It was probably a little past midnight and it was incredibly quiet, which came as a surprise to him. He found it nice, but also incredibly eerie. As he walks along the sidewalk he comes to where he had seen the supposed 'Levi' earlier with the two men. The light flickers from overhead and a chill runs up Eren's spine. A faint groan eminates from the alleyway beside him and he squints his eyes only to see the two men from earlier beaten to a bloody unconsciousness.

A strike of fear runs through Eren's entire being and he finds himself running away from the alleyway toward his apartment. When he is halfway there, he stops. He feels he is at a safe distance from the imaginary monsters that haunt his mind with terrible images. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a dark figure from across the street and almost jumps ten feet in the air. It's 'Levi'. The man's hair is still neatly in place save for a few stray strands in the front. His lip is now swollen and split, but there's hardly a scratch anywhere else that Eren can see under the yellow light of the street lamp. He's smoking another cigarette.

Once again, Eren finds himself staring into the man's now calm gray eyes and they make they're way over to meet Eren's for a second time that day. Only this time, Eren quickly looks away and his body moves accordingly. He walks toward his apartment and as he steps from out of the light, he turns back to see what the man is doing, only to find him still staring, his eyes now narrowed and his gaze a little more unforgiving. Eren keeps on walking until he's safe from the outside world.

He quickly climbs the stone steps to his and Mikasa's apartment and fumbles his jean pockets for the key. He hears a cat yowl in the distant and he jumps, now nervously attempting to find the keyhole. After much tribulation, Eren is finally within the safe walls of the apartment. He swiftly locks the door and makes his way for his bed.

Levi's gaze still burns against his back and he hopes he won't have to be under such intense investigation again anytime soon.


	5. A Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Levi. The song mentioned is All These Things I've Done by The Killers.

  
At first the air had begun to feel crisper as autumn crept its way further on. The trees had begun to show their colours turning into oranges and yellows and reds and the air in the mornings was almost painful to breath due to its sharp and brittle content. Eren didn’t much mind. He loved fall. It reminded him of the time he and Mikasa had gotten to go apple picking when they were ten. He had fallen out of a tree trying to get the perfect apple near the top of a McIntosh tree. Eren thought it would be a good idea to present the apple to his mother. Mikasa had been the one to rush to Eren’s aid first after the fall and brushed him off and wiped away the tears in the corner of his eyes. Grisha had been the one to pick the apple at the top of the tree because no one else could reach it and he shined it up and told Eren he should be the one to eat it. And so he did. He ate the apple and it was the tastiest he had ever bitten into. Eren was so overwhelmed that he started to sob uncontrollably because he had initially wanted to give it to his mother and now he’d bitten into it and he felt bad because it was so tasty.

Eren sighs, the memory fading as he shakes his head whilst looking at the thermometer for outside. Today definitely did not feel like autumn in the least bit. It was a sickening, sticky hot outside and the moment he stepped outside, even in his tank top, he was sweltering. It was ninety degrees out and incredibly uncomfortable. Eren was a little grumpy he had to dig out the summer clothes he had already put away just for the dumb, crazy weather. “Stupid climate change,” he grumbles under his breath and he is already sweating. It was the middle of September, he didn’t sign up for this.

Mikasa had gone to the skate park with Annie earlier. They’d been hanging out with each other more progressively as the number of weeks in school grew. Eren didn’t mind her as much anymore and she stopped reminding him of an aggressive dog. Apparently the blonde enjoyed skateboarding and was a black belt in karate. Annie even showed him a few punches and kicks, which he appreciated. To be honest, Eren had no idea how to defend himself. Part of him didn’t want to learn self defense because he didn’t even want to think about using it and the other part of him knew better.

Eren wondered what kind of thugs or drug dealers would even be out in this heat. He felt like a black cat trapped under the sun and a heater. It was the humidity that was the real culprit.

He made his way down the cracked sidewalk, bored out of his mind. He had actually taken the prior day to finish up all his homework for the weekend and now he had nothing to do. He was relieved he didn’t have to worry about anything, but at the same time he’d rather be occupied. And so, Eren had come to the silent decision that he’d go and see Mikasa at the skate park and maybe they’d teach him how to skate board. Sometimes he just liked to sit and watch.

Unfortunately the skate park was located by the park on the other end of town. Each and every time he passed a particularly creepy alleyway he tensed up and walked a little quicker. He slowed back down as he passed the sign out front of the coffee shop he enjoyed and frowned as he read the quote. “Be careful what you wish for?” Eren read aloud and his nose scrunched up a little at the ominous meaning. “Does that even count as a positive quote?” he shook off the uneasy feeling and kept walking.

It then occurred to him as he moseyed by a small parking lot that he hadn’t seen the mysterious man as of late. After the party at Jean’s  a few weeks back, he had just begun to avoid the man with gray eyes, the man who went by the name of Levi. There had been another instance after it when Jean and Marco had been present and confirmed their own suspicions. It was indeed Levi, whoever he was. For a moment, Eren almost missed running into Levi. If you could even call it that.

Eren’s heart skipped a beat when he heard muffled yelling from an abandoned building in the corner of the city he was in. A cold sweat pushed its way to Eren’s pores and even through the thick heat he was suddenly freezing and the world felt icy cool. He found his feet running before his brain could even think of it and he bolted around another corner. He just wanted to get to the skate park already.

He retches when someone grabs the back of his shirt and he continues to run. “Hey kid! What are you doing here?” a man growls and Eren took a minute to stop coughing as he looks up from leaning on his knees with his hands. His eyes widen and he frowns. _Shit_.

There are four questionable men in total, with two hanging by the door to an old brick building with boarded windows and the one who had grabbed him looked irritated, the other by his side sneered. “Oh look it’s a pretty little college boy,” the man spits in disgust and Eren tries not to shrink back into his shoulders.

“Oi, you a pillow biter or somethin’?” one of them cackles from the doorway and Eren doesn’t understand what he means but he doesn’t care. He wants to disappear away from these strange men.

Eren’s eyes dart down to see the other man in the doorway with his arm tied off and a needle in his hand and he suddenly understands. He’s walked in on something, something dangerous, something he shouldn’t have. He’s unwelcome. He attempts to swallow the lump in his throat but can’t, it’s caught like a frog in a fishnet.

The man who had grabbed his shirt before is very close to him and Eren doesn’t notice until the man punches him square in the gut. Eren coughs at impact, a pain flourishes from his stomach and he’s keeling over all of a sudden. The man who was sneering elbows him in the back and Eren is on the ground now, writhing in pain and trying to recover from the hits. “Shouldn’t have come here!” one of them spits aggressively and a foot connects to Eren’s recovering stomach.

All of the air leaves his lungs and he can feel hot tears collecting in his eyes. He curls up and covers his face with his hands as a defensive maneuver as he recieves several more brutal kicks from two of the men and one of them in the door way is cackling again, cackling like a fucking hyena. One of them kicks him square in the face and his head smacks off the tar with a thump and he whimpers, new pain blooming on the back of his skull.

Eren’s nothing short of thankful when their kicking stops. “L-Levi!? What the fuck are you doing here?” one of them barks and Eren peaks through a gap in his fingers to find none other than the mysterious man, a cigarette elegantly hanging from his thin lips.

“What the fuck are you _doing_?” he retorts with another question in a flat, forceful voice ebbing with sarcasm.

One of the men begins to speak in low, inaudible tones and Levi’s expression changes from mildly indifferent to furious. He moves quickly and Eren is unable to track every movement, but sure enough Levi hits a pressure point in one of the men’s necks. The man is now kneeling and Levi smashes his face in with his knee and his nose is scrunched up in disgust in a slight manner as to not show his true feelings of revulsion. “Fucking rat,” he grumbles and the man is slumped over on the ground.

He leaps forward and punches the other man near him square in the face with a sickening crack and Eren almost gags. Blood now rushes from the mans face and he shrieks. His nose is probably broken. The other two men drop whatever they’re doing and run, not stopping to look back and Eren can hear Levi snort. He shrinks back into his curling position as he can hear boots approach him. A gentle touch on his shoulder startles him and his hands fall from his face. Levi’s serious expression falters for only a moment as he’s surprised to see the one in distress is none other than Eren and Eren simply stares into his gray eyes like a doe in headlights.

“Did you hit your head hard?” Levi asks, his voice no longer cynical or harsh.

“I’m okay,” Eren barely whispers and breaks eye contact as Levi holds out his hand to help him up. Eren takes it gratefully.

As soon as Eren is on his feet again he regrets the decision; he swivels away from Levi and bends over as his body retches and empties out what little of its contents it has onto the ground. Eren stays like that for a minute, spitting out any extra fluid still in his mouth. He hated the feeling in his mouth and throat after puking. But then again, he hated being nauseous more. Eren groans. He just wanted to go to the dumb skate park. He can feel a hot sticky liquid slide down his face and he attempts to wipe it away with the corner of his shirt but the blood continues to poor from his head and he doesn’t feel so good again.

Levi frowns before he’s standing next to Eren once again before he falls, his eyes rolling into the back of his head and fluttering closed. Levi grumbles, having caught the boy. “When’d I get picked for baby watching duty?” he sighs, but he knows the answer to his question already.  
Levi hoists Eren over his shoulder, which is almost a comical sight due to the difference in their height. He hisses when he realizes he’s getting Eren’s blood on his clothes but doesn’t put the boy down until they are both safely buckled into his car.

* * *

  
  
When Eren awakes, his eyes are flooded with florescent light and he squints to try and block out some of it. The first thing he notices is that he aches all over. Then, he registers that he’s in a hospital room. Levi is chatting with an older nurse in the far corner with dark hair streaked with gray and gentle eyes. It seems to Eren they know each other, but he doesn’t think too hard about it. Finally, the reality of the situation hits him. His eyes fly open and he pats his pockets for his cellphone. Mikasa must be worried senseless.

Levi turns and his eyes meet Eren’s. He understands immediately. He quickly digs into his jacket pocket and pulls out a thin flip phone and hands it to the younger man. Eren takes it gratefully, relieved. He flips it open to find twenty six missed calls. He groans and closes it shut, he’ll deal with it later. He’d be yelled at for sure. He turns slowly to see Levi looking at him expectantly and Eren pauses for a moment, thinking.  
  
“What hospital is this?” he asks and Levi raises a thin eyebrow.

“Shinganshina Cross,” the nurse replies meekly. Both of the men glare at her and she breathes loudly for a moment before quickly escaping the premises, knowing it was time for her to leave.

When the woman exits the room, Eren’s rigid stature slumps a little. “I was born here,” he states and Levi looks interested. Eren swats the air in front of him, “Anyways, what happened?”

Levi grumbles inaudibly for a moment about what seems to be messed up car seats. “You passed out, you got a few stitches for the cut on your forehead,” he answers more firmly.

Eren couldn’t understand what was so wrong with this Levi character, why Jean and Marco disliked him so much. He seemed nice enough. “Thank you, for saving me earlier,” Eren smiles and his hands gently hold each other in his lap.

Levi seems a little taken aback at the showing of gratitude and stays like that, his face unemotional save for his eyes slightly wider than normal. Eren looks around, waiting for a response but it doesn’t come. “What’s wrong?” Eren asks deferentially.

Levi coughs into his fist awkwardly, snapping out of his daze. “Sorry, I just haven’t had the liberty of being thanked as of late,” he answers quietly and Eren frowns. Levi shakes his head a little, attempting to change the subject. “Come on, I’ll drive you home,” he states flatly, ordering more than asking and Eren is surprised by his tone. Levi looks irritated as Eren continues to sit there whilst mildly shocked. “Hurry up, before I change my mind,” he grumbles at the younger male. Eren quickly scrambles off the bed, making sure he has everything before following Levi out of the room.

When the two of them finally got around to leaving the hospital, paperwork done, Eren noticed it was incredibly dark. They must have been in there for hours considering he’d left around noontime to go to the skate park (which he never reached). Levi drove a shiny black camaro which came as a shock to Eren at first, but then he came to the conclusion that it fit. Both of them are silent as they make their way through the parking garage.

“What’s your address?” Levi asks him when the both of them are safely within the vehicle. It takes Eren a moment to reply because he’d only thought about the address once or twice. Nobody sent them mail, so there really wasn’t a need to know it. Levi puts the address into a small GPS system near the dash.

As the car pulls out of the parking garage, Eren can hear a familiar song playing softly in the background. It’s by The Killers. He knew it because Mikasa had introduced him to The Killers when they were both fifteen. _When there's nowhere else to run, is there room for one more son?_ Eren smiles. “Is this their CD?” he asks attempting to make conversation.

Levi snickers at this, “It’s a mixtape.”

Eren raises his eyebrows though Levi can’t see in the dark car. “Those even still exist?” he laughs a little lightheartedly.

“They do for me,” he answers curtly and Eren frowns as the conversation drops off. _I got soul, but I'm not a soldier._

Eren sighs and studies Levi’s face for a moment, trying to see something there that wasn’t. “You know, you aren’t so bad, really,” he states and Levi glances over at him.

“What have you heard?” the older man asks, his voice growing darker and more serious.

“They’re certain you’re some crazed ex-druggie slash dealer who doesn’t have friends because everyone’s too afraid of you,” Eren mumbles in response and his heart skips a beat when Levi laughs. He fucking _laughs_. Eren whips his head back to stare incredulously at him. “How’s that funny?” he barks at the man driving.

“They’ve got my essence down I suppose,” Levi says between laughs and Eren wonders why the man is so normally composed when he has the laughter of angels.

“I don’t believe you,” Eren pouts and folds his arms in front of him, pushing back into the leather seat more.

Levi stops his laughter and Eren immediately misses it. “Believe what ya’ want, kid,” he says before digging into the center compartment unit and taking out a box of cigarettes. He taps the box and pulls one out with his teeth. “D’you mind?” he asks and Eren shakes his head. Levi reaches for a lighter and lights the cigarette, lowing the driver seat window a little to allow the smoke to escape.

“Smoking's bad for you,” Eren says sheepishly, shrinking into his seat.

Levi takes the bud from his mouth in between his fingers. “Tell me something I don’t know,” he states in a caustic tone and Eren’s shoulders fall slightly. “Sure as hell better than a good hit of white lady,” he attempts to soothe over his prior remark and Eren stops slumping in tiny amounts. Eren doesn’t respond.

It’s quiet the rest of the car ride save for the back ground music which Eren deciphers as 30 Seconds To Mars. When Levi’s finished he throws the rest out the window. It seems like forever before the both of them pull up to the sidewalk in front of his and Mikasa’s apartment. Eren moves to unbuckle, muttering a thank you, but flinches as he feels a light hand on his arm. Eren flinches and whips around only to be met with calm gray eyes.

“Hey, kid…uh, thanks. Earlier, I mean,” he begins, “when you said I wasn’t so bad,” his hand drops and it makes it way for another cigarette, shaking ever so slightly. It’s then that Eren realizes smoking is a nervous habit for the man.

Eren calms his nerves, understanding a little more why this man seemed so standoffish now, glaring aside. “I meant it, you’re a pretty nice guy,” Eren smiles, watching intently as the man before him brings the cigarette to his lips.

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time,” he says, his words slightly muffled by the cigarette in his lips and he grabs for his light, quickly lighting the cigarette and inhaling.

Levi’s words sent a pang of sorrow through Eren. He felt sorry for this man. He seemed lonely. “It’s Eren,” he says, his voice firmer and more confident now. Levi immediately stops fiddling with his cigarette and pauses a moment, surprised. He shakes his head and turns to Eren looking him over for a moment. “Levi, but I’m guessing you knew that,” he replies.

Eren nods and moves to exit the car. Once he’s out he lingers with the door open. “Thanks again Levi, goodnight,” he thanks the older man. As he closes the door he can hear soft, smooth words roll off the other man’s tongue and a shiver runs up his spine. “Goodnight, Eren.”

* * *

  
  
When Eren is safely inside the apartment, he catches sight of none other than Mikasa. She’s sitting on the couch, one leg slung over the other and her arms are crossed. Her face is furious at first, but as soon as his sister spots his stitches and black eye, her expression falters into worry. “Eren, what happened to you?” she asks and cradles his face in her hands, brushing away hair from near his stitches.

“Wrong place, wrong time,” he answers with a sigh. He was still incredibly sore and achey.

“Who took you to the hospital? It’s fifty minutes away!” she interrogates and Eren gazes at her, wondering what her reaction would be. He decides he’d rather not tell her the truth.

“ _A friend_ ,” he responds and Mikasa gives him a skeptical look.

Mikasa looks as though she’s about to question further. Probably about the culprits. But Eren isn’t having any of that, he’s too tired. “I’m gonna go to bed, I’m exhausted,” he speaks up before she can continue.

Mikasa’s visible anger withers away in that moment and is replaced with yet another worried expression. “Well, alright,” she gives in, “call me if you need anything.” And she leaves it at that. Eren’s grateful. When Eren is safely in the confines of his bedroom, he doesn’t even bother to change. He falls onto his bed and sinks into its comfort.

“Yeah,” he whispers to himself, staring out into the darkest corner of his small bedroom, “a friend.”


	6. Plus One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit so many dividers.

The rain poured from the sky and all was silent in the roar of loud pattering droplets that flooded the earth. Levi sat in front of a local diner in the area. He is twelve years old. His adoptive parents were the kind of people who were an incredibly wealthy christian family, and the only reason they adopted him was to spread their christian kindness to the world. They didn’t actually care about Levi, and he knew it, too. In fact, he was sitting under the bus stop in front of a diner waiting for a bus because of them. He was there because he was heading to a “Correctional Military Institute for Boys” as his foster parents had told him. It was due to his outbursts caused by lack of sleep he got with his nightly dose of nightmare. At least, that was what he could actually consider as a possibility, because people wouldn’t listen if he told them his new parents were too lazy to care about him. They didn’t even care enough to drive him there, they simply dropped him off at the bus stop.  It made him angry.

Levi swung his feet back and forth sitting on the bench, listening to the pattering of rain. His feet didn’t even touch the ground when he sat all the way back on the metal seat. He glanced over at his suitcase which was being splashed by the rain droplets from the street and the bottom was already soaked. He frowned. He didn’t want to go to this new school. He wanted parents who would love him, appreciate him, and treat him as normal. He sighed and turned around in his seat, scoping out the area for anything interesting.

The young boy’s eyes rested on a window in the diner, the only one without blinds to obscure his view. Inside he could see a family laughing and eating brunch. He couldn’t make out the faces of the parents or one of the children in the booth, mostly because they were faced toward a small boy standing in the booth and looking about happily. Levi squinted to get a better view at the family. He frowned. The boy had large green eyes and dimples in his cheeks because he smiled so widely. He didn’t know what the people in the diner were talking about, but then he suddenly felt envious of the boy.

He continued to stare for a while, so focused on the little boy in the window who couldn’t have been older than four years old. Levi was so focused on viewing the happy people in the diner that he hadn’t heard the bus roll up to a halt at the bus stop.  “Hey, kid!” an older man called from driving the bus and it startled Levi. “You getting on or what?”

Levi slid off the bench regrettably and snatched his small suitcase, handing the bus driver his ticket on the way on. He was the only one on save for a few other people who were asleep or reading a book. He took a seat in the almost back, away from the other people and sat his suitcase beside him. When the bus began to move again, he quickly searched for the people in the window one last time. To his surprise, his gray eyes were met with the little boy’s green ones.  The little boy raised a tiny hand, waving it slightly as if to say good luck. Levi wasn’t sure if it was meant for him, but he could have sworn the boy was staring directly at him and no one else. And so, he took the offered good bye, the only one anyone would bear to offer, and he waved back at the boy until the diner rolled out of sight.

* * *

 

Levi wakes to the ringing of his cell phone and he grumbles, blinking away the memory and dream. He kicks away some of the blankets tangled up with his legs but fails miserably with freeing himself completely. His hand groggily makes its way over to phone and hits the answer button on the first attempt. He pulls it up to his ear grumpily and grumbles.

“Yes?” he hisses into the speaker and he can hear cheerful giggling on the other line. He rolls his eyes.

“Levi! It’s about time you got up!” it’s Hanji, Levi’s overzealous friend and current employer. Well, official legal employer that is. The man had grown to be practically self-employed, but legal hadn’t exactly been in the job description, so when he got his act together he met Hanji and she helped him get a fairly creditable job. None of that under the table shit.

The clock face rolls into Levi’s view and he audibly groans at the time. It’s six in the morning. Fucking six in the AM and here’s Hanji calling him after he worked the night prior. He didn’t even get home until three. “Can I help you?” he growls into the phone and he can hear the woman snicker.

“Actually, yeah, I was just calling to let you know that tonight we’re closing up shop early so you’ll be getting a night off tonight. Thought I’d let you know before I went to sleep and forgot, wouldn’t want you coming in when you don’t need to, eh?” she informs, her voice becoming slightly hardened with seriousness.

“You haven’t even gone to bed?” Levi grumbles into the phone and he can hear the woman shrug. He shakes the thought off and sighs, “Right, okay, see you Tuesday night I guess.” Levi waits for Hanji to reply with affirmation before he ends the call.

He rolls over, attempting to find sleep once more but to no avail. He groans irritated and decides he can’t sleep at the moment. Instead, he opts for struggling out of the blankets and making his bed before stumbling into the kitchen to make a pot of strong coffee. He holds his phone in his hand and checks his messages as he has a missed call from yesterday evening when he was at work. He holds the phone up to his ear to find himself surprised at the voice being played back to him.

It’s none other than Petra Ral, one of his first and few friends from when he settled down into normal life as best he could. She was kind and every now and then she made sure to check up on him. At one point he had gotten really close to her and her group of friends, but at some point they grew apart again. Levi had reverted back into a recluse. He guessed she was checking up on him again.

_“…Hey Levi! It’s Petra. The boys and I were wondering if you’d like to stop by Monday night? Erwin said you didn’t have to work on Mondays. We’re just going to have dinner and catch up, nothing big. Maybe we’ll see you? We’re worried about you, Levi. I hope someone’s taking care of you.  Hopefully in the while we haven’t seen each other you’ve come across a friend; you can’t spend your life alone - it makes people who care about you lose sleep over what could happen.”_

Levi sighs as there’s shuffling on the other line. Petra was quieter in real life, but for some unaccountable reason she left terribly long voice messages. _“…You know what, how about you bring them with you? It’ll get our minds off the subject and it could liven things up! So, yeah, definitely bring them!”_

Levi curses under his breath. In all honesty his life has only consisted of Hanji and the occasional checkup from Erwin and his job. Every now and then he’d wander to the next town over to go to the coffee shop or the unfinished renovated park. He loved it there, because no one went there to bug him and if you sat on one of the large concrete tunnels they never placed it was like you could touch the stars. The sky there is always so clear. It helps him clear his mind.

He sighs once more. “Shit…” he grumbles at his coffee mug with a grudge.

Who could he rope into pretending to be his friend? It was almost humorous that he had to ask someone to pretend to like him. That’s probably the reason he didn’t have very many friends in the first place. Unfortunately he didn’t really interact with anyone but that select group unless it was thugs or druggies who he didn’t know on a personal level. He thinks for a moment, scoping out his mind for anyone his old friends didn’t know. Eventually, his sights found themselves set on the memory of the college kid named Eren from a few days back.

A sly smirk makes its way to Levi’s lips. Perfect. He could definitely rope a kid into repaying him for saving his ass. Petra and the others won’t suspect a thing.

Levi sets the mug down and decides to get ready. He’d better get an early start if he was going to the town of Maria Wall University’s finest.

* * *

  
  
Eren awoke to his blinds already open; light filtered in the spaces between them and his room was impressively lit up with the morning sunshine. His eyes flutter open, squinting against the brightness. It was unusual for his room to be so lit up when he customarily lived in the darkness of closed blinds and doors. He hisses at the brightness before rolling off his bed and groaning when he falls to the floor. He didn’t want to get up. He listens closely as quiet voices seep through the hallway and into his bedroom from the other room. He strains his hearing but can’t make out any words. Mikasa’s is one of the voices, which doesn’t surprise Eren, but then he hears a lower, gruffer voice and it makes him angry how every low tone is so inaudible.

Eren growls before pushing himself off the floor and throws his comforter back on the bed. He scuffles over to a dresser and pulls out a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans before exiting the brightened room to find out who was in the apartment. He yawns, stopping by the bathroom and quickly brushes his teeth to get rid of morning breath and doesn’t even attempt to put down his crazy hair, instead opting for shaking his head so it would fall into place somewhat.

When Eren reaches the end of the hallway he stops in his tracks and his jaw immediately clenches with emotion. His face twists into disgust and anger and sadness and his emotion becomes almost unreadable in comparison to any normal expression. “What is he doing here?!” he glares at Mikasa and she’s frowning.

Her attention returns to the man in the chair beside her. “Dad was just dropping some stuff off from the house he found, wondering if we’d like any of it, some of it was Mom’s. He’s moving,” her voice cut the air like daggers and the tension rose in the room as Grisha rose from the chair.

“I see my time here has been overspent,” the man gruffly announces before making his way to the door without  a single glance in Eren’s direction.

Eren’s fists clench at his sides as his gaze burns into the back of Grisha’s skull and he wishes the man would set ablaze in that moment. Mikasa walks their father out, giving Eren an apologetic look and he exhales the breath he’s been holding in.

Five minutes later Mikasa returns to the apartment, looking worried. “I’m so sorry Eren, I had no idea he was coming. He’s gone now,” she informs her brother and Eren’s expression had grown weary in the time the two left until the time Mikasa returned.

Eren’s nose scrunches up in a tired fury, “I really hate that man,” he glares at nothing in particular.

Mikasa sighs. She makes her way and picks something up from the table. “Look, I know, but you only have to deal with him for a little while longer. Once we’re out of this place you don’t have to ever see him again.” Mikasa’s right. If only he wasn’t paying for their apartment and their college fees.

Mikasa leans down and puts something wrapped in a small cloth in Eren’s hands, clasping them together around the object and looking him in the eyes. “This was Mom’s. Apparently she used to keep it fastened to your blanket when you were a baby and put it away for safe keeping when you got to the age where you started putting things in your mouth. Dad said she wouldn’t leave the house without this on your blanket or your jacket when you were really small. She thought it was good luck. So it’s for you. Maybe the reason all these things seem to keep happening is because you lost your good luck charm?” Mikasa at times could cultivate her mother quality as a positive force for Eren, and when she did she was exceedingly helpful.

Eren opens the small cloth to reveal a shiny pin in the shape of a shield with engraved wings on it. It was still shiny with only minor scratches on the surface in certain light due to years of being correctly taken care of and stored. Eren ran his finger tip over the little pin and his brows furrowed in confusion. Why had his mother spent so much time keeping this little pin safe? Where had she gotten it? Why was it so special in the first? He sighs audibly before rising from the chair and shoving the piece of cloth and pin in his sweatshirt pocket.

 “I’m going out for a walk,” he tells Mikasa wearily and he doesn’t wait for a reply before he closes the apartment door behind him.

 

* * *

  
  
Eren’s feet take him to the unfinished park, where he would normally be reluctant to wander considering the previous week’s events. Nevertheless, he finds himself at the park kicking rocks and groaning about how life sucks. He feels like a teenager, or at least, a younger teenager. He grimaces at the very fact that he isn’t even twenty years old yet. He’s just a baby in the adult world. He wanders over to a ledge, picking up a particularly smooth rock before hurling it as far as his arm strength would allow. Eren scowls, attempting to control his still burning anger from seeing his father’s face.

“Oygh, rough night?” Eren jumps at the snarky comment to his right and whips around to see none other than Levi sitting on a half buried concrete cylinder.

“Not quite,” the younger of the two sighs and shoves his hand in his sweatshirt pockets.

“You look like shit,” the harshness of Levi’s words stung a little, but Eren knew it was probably true.

Levi sighs reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette from an open carton and swiftly placing it in between his lips. He swiftly lights it and inhales deeply. Eren unwillingly decides to climb up the concrete pipe and sit beside Levi, but not so close that they were touching.

"So, do you come here often?" Eren jokes but Levi rolls his eyes as if the attempt at conversation was worse than terrible. Eren shuffles a little and stops smiling like a dork.

Levi continues inhaling and exhaling cigarette smoke for another good minute in the bitter cold. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask…” Levi begins, staring out into space.

“Yeah?” Eren whispers a reply and the softness of his voice surprises him.

“I get a favor right? Y’know, like a mutualistic thing?” Levi’s eyes dart around and Eren watches him intently as he almost squirms in nerves.

The younger man thinks for a moment about what he’s going to say before turning to face Levi more. “Depends, I guess. You did save me, but I’m not getting wrapped up in any drug bullshit,” he informs the older male firmly.

Levi shakes his head. “Nah, none of that. It’s just this thing, I gotta bring someone to show some old friends I’m not the same old recluse they once knew, that I’m progressing or something. They want me to bring a…” Levi stops his ramblings a moment and swallows before he forces the word out, “friend.” His voice rolls out in a whisper as if he can’t bring himself to talk anymore.

Eren sits still processing what Levi was asking of him. Here was this man in front of him, this older man who had been through so much, who used to be a hard-hitter and a drug dealer. And here he was in front of Eren, flustered having to ask for a favor from someone, especially someone he barely knew because there was no one else he could go to. Levi turns and studies Eren’s puzzled expression and sighs. “Know what, never mind, it’s dumb anyway,” he grumbles under his breath as if defeated by the circumstances.

This snaps Eren from his daze. “Wait, you’re asking me to be your plus one at a get together with some old colleagues?” Eren asks to reaffirm his initial comprehension.

“They’re good people,” Levi assures the college student, his voice withering away in the wind that rustled the leaves around them.

Eren looks Levi in the eye and finds himself smiling, “I’ll do it.”


End file.
